Tombazis: “These changes are an evolution, not a revolution”

Tombazis and the regulatory changes After the first three races, Formula 1 partially changed the technical regulations to meet the needs of the drivers, teams and above all the entertainment. To appreciate them you will have to wait another ten days: the Sprint weekend in Miami will be the first test bed for the improvements approved by the FIA, FOM, teams, drivers and engineers. And while there are critics who continue to be sceptical, FIA single-seater director Nikolas Tombazis has defended this “phase 2.0”, calling it an evolution aimed at improving the basic product, and in turn not definitive. Tombazis’ words “There was broad unanimity on all aspects, which will help ensure that the drivers concentrate on driving and push hard in qualifying. The drivers will push harder on Saturday, you will perceive it by looking at the on-board cameras and hearing the sound of the engine. Furthermore, the type of problem that we saw with Ollie Bearman’s accident in Suzuka should be substantially avoided from the next race”, this is the comment of the Greek engineer. “On the risks in starts, it will probably take two or three races to implement the changes. We will do some testing in Miami and Canada, but basically we will have a safety net. So if a car is detected to have an extremely problematic start, the electrical system will activate and take over, making sure the car starts safely to avoid problems for the cars behind.” “These 2026 regulations represent one of the biggest changes that Formula 1 has ever had in its history, and were key to maintaining technological relevance with increasing electrification and so on. We knew from the start that they would present challenges and we had always said that we would revisit them after the first races. The first races went quite well in many respects: the races were exciting, close and with lots of overtaking, but there were certainly also situations where it was necessary to intervene. So the approach we took was one of evolution and refinement, not revolution,” he added. “In addition to the unanimous positive vote for these changes, I believe that the majority of power unit manufacturers and teams have expressed their support to the FIA and gratitude for all the work we have done. I think the same goes for the drivers, who felt very involved in this process. Now we hope that the fans feel the same way. But we are all learning about these regulations; it’s not like now that the work is done and we can all go on holiday. We will continue to monitor, review and analyze the situation: if they will be If further interventions are necessary, we will not hesitate to adopt them.” The changes adopted The changes to qualifications and energy management aim to make driving more aggressive and less based on economy: maximum charging drops from 8 to 7 MJ, reducing energy recovery and limiting the superclip to 2–4 seconds per lap, but with power increased from 250 to 350 kW, so drivers will have to worry less about management. In the race, the boost will be limited to +150 kW to contain sudden differences in performance, while the MGU-K will remain at 350 kW in key phases (acceleration and overtaking) but will drop to 250 kW elsewhere, with the aim of reducing approach speeds without penalizing the show.